


Starry Starry Night

by PuzzleBot



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Because I can't write anything else apparently, First Kiss, Hero Worship, Kinda, M/M, Stargazing, vague ruminations on how essek worships the luxon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22272505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuzzleBot/pseuds/PuzzleBot
Summary: The night before the peace talks commence, there's another talk.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 13
Kudos: 109





	Starry Starry Night

**Author's Note:**

> Howzit, Essek Discord; lov ya <3

The sea was still.

Well, not entirely. The waves lapped up against the Ball Eater like gentle tongues of water, rocking the Nein in their rest. Caleb was awake.

He marvelled at his friend's ability to sleep so easily, when the churning of the ocean underfoot was only a prelude to what could so easily be a tempest of political malignance tomorrow. Even Nott was sound asleep, curled in with Jester, where they were sharing secrets about... Well, no one could ever be sure with them. Beau had dragged Fjord and Yasha off for training below deck in lieu of dinner, and he hadn't heard from them since. Caduceus had stressed the importance of a good night's rest, coming back from the crow's nest smelling of incense and salt water. Essek had excused himself after the rowdy meal, presumably to make final preparations before the Dynasty ships arrived tomorrow.

The night was quiet. Lonely, were it not for the consistent, low purr of Frumpkin wrapped protectively at his feet. Still, it left the deck free, and the peace was welcome for his fluttering brain.

"It is a climactic moment, is it not?" He murmured as he rested his elbows on the side of the ship, eyes fixed on the cobalt sky and its pinpricks of light. Frumpkin chirped a response, coiling tighter around Caleb's ankles, "All our hard work comes to a point tomorrow, little one..."

"Whatever happened to 'Essek'?" A chime of laughter carried across the empty deck of the ship, and Caleb jumped, Frumpkin darting from his legs and bounding below deck. Turning, Caleb saw the Shadowhand, wrapped in his cloak, and wandering towards him.

"Ah, I did not know you were still..."

"I've already rested my fair share, Widogast," Essek assured, joining him at the edge of the boat and staring out at the blank horizon, "I'll trance for a few more hours when the sun rises. The morning will be... Most inhospitable on my eyes."

"Of course, you have a sensitivity, yes?"

"Something like that."

A silence fell, and the two sat listening to the waves, the night-birds. In the sky, the moons were both shining, maybe even moreso than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, Caleb could see Essek fidgeting with the hem of his cloak. Once again, he proved himself to be not so unshakable. Still, he had no place to judge his nerves, after being caught speaking to his cat, of all things. Not that Essek seemed to be judging, which was something like relieving.

They could have stayed in that silence for the rest of the night, were it not for Caleb's inability to let a moment stand.

"The sky in Xhorhas... It is different to what you see here, yes?" He indicated the stars that he'd not been able to spot from the roof of the Xhorhaus. Truly, a pity. Stargazing was something he'd always enjoyed.

"Yes, yes. It is. I'm unfamiliar with these stars, in this arrangement," Essek confirmed, a hand leaving the safety of the cloak to indicate the stranger constellations, "I suppose it's funny... Dunamancy seems, when I cast it, to throw me into tumbling fields of stars, and yet--for the longest time--I've only been able to appreciate the moment we chose for our sky. To see the sky alive again is something of a treat. Feels as if I am standing inside some grander spell." As if to accentuate his point, some star, or else comet, meteor, went flying across their heads, burning a bright trail in the sky before petering out to nothingness once more, "It's beautiful."

Caleb watched as Essek spoke--not the sky, but his lips, his eyes. There was a reverence to how he observed the diamond darkness above them, almost as if he were praying with each word he spoke. In an odd way, it reminded him of Caduceus. Every word from the firbolg's mouth was dedicated to the Wildmother, and in this moment, it felt as if Essek was very similar, if for the Luxon. And the worship was beautiful.

"Luxon... It means 'light', yes? Not 'sunlight' or 'moonlight'... Just pure and simple light?"

"From any source, yes. Sun, moon, fire, stars... In the end, it's all one and the same. The sun is its purest representation, but worship can be found to any break in the darkness."

"I find myself... Rather fond of that way of thinking. Not worshipping the destructive aspects of fire, nor the healing of the moon... Simply the light that all sources give. I admire the, ah, purity of it, I suppose."

Essek smiled, and the moonlight highlighted his face beautifully. Sweeping cheekbones, shining eyes, sharp teeth that trapped a cunning tongue, "I'm certain the Luxon would welcome a new worshipper. Certainly one who has done so much to protect its beacons, and bring them back to the Dynasty. Perhaps we'll go into that in a lesson sometime."

The night was cold, and the stars emboldened Caleb, as if he could reach out to them, like a field of motes of possibility. With all that chance in the sky, he couldn't not take it.

"Why not give me a short lesson now, Essek?" His voice was certain, his hand sure as he placed it atop Essek's, "Teach me what it's like to worship the Luxon as you do, with your words... Your mouth."

The Shadowhand didn't look down--the warmth of Caleb's hand was all the confirmation he needed that the moment was true. His smile only widened, and he closed the gap between the two of them. Finally pulling his eyes from the starbound skies, he looked up, met the eyes of his Luxon's protector. Still stars, but dimmer. Easier for a drow to look into than the sun. Caleb looked back, tired and enamoured. They leaned in, lips meeting in front of a pair of knowing moons.

The sea was still, and the wizards were too, wrapped in each other's light embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please check out some of my original work @absdion on Tumblr, Twitter and Insta, or at absdion.weebly.com!


End file.
